Ugh: These greens are so bumpy!

Actually, it sounds like Tiger Woods may have gotten a better grip on his outbursts as he matured into an adult. AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 36-hole leader Charlie Wi, who is 12-under after firing 61-69, shared an amusing memory from a round he played with Tiger in junior golf — they played quite a bit together when they were younger because they’re both from California.

“I knew he was a fierce competitor even when we were younger,” said Charlie in his press conference at Pebble Beach. “I remember playing with him when I was 13 and he was 9. There is a golf course in Long Beach called Eldorado.  The ninth hole is a really long par‑3.  For some reason, I don’t know what he did with his tee shot, but I remember he hit it 70 yards in, and he looked down and got so mad.

“I said, ‘What’s wrong?’

“He said, ‘I was trying to hole that.’

“I said, ‘Oh, come on.’

“And that always stuck with me.  9-years-old at Eldorado.  He probably doesn’t remember, but I was going, ‘Man, come on.’”

Good memory, Cousin Charlie!

(*Footnote: Charlie thinks we’re ancient long-lost cousins — long story short: he thinks we’re related because we have the same Chinese clan name. How is that possible? Isn’t he Korean? Yep, he is, but way back in the day, his family descended from a Chinese clan. The surname “Wei” or “Wi” — I wish I could type the Chinese character — is rare and he wrote it out for me last year and confirmed we shared the same one.)

In related news, check out my column for SI/Golf.com on the lovely day I spent with Tiger at MPCC. That’s two six-hour days in a row together! I think it might be getting serious. Meanwhile, I still can’t believe Tiger hit 16 (17 if you count the fringe) greens and only shot two-under. That’s awful. Those are Michelle Wie-type stats. If you hit 16 greens, you’re supposed to shoot a lot lower than two-under.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)